Dawn of Heroes
by Greylith
Summary: This story actually takes place some time after all the Zelda games, with the great flood and the events of Twilight Princess being things of history. It details the life of a Hylian prince, an OC, and his quest for the triforce. Expect familiar faces.


Chapter 1

Lucky, spoiled, fortunate, care free. These are all words that could describe a young prince. These are all words that have always described a young prince. For a prince knows no responsibility. He knows not the consequences of his actions. All he knows is that life is beautiful, and he is as free as a bird.

My name is Adean Hyrule. The eldest child to the king, and heir apparent. My little sister is the fabled princess Zelda, true ruler of our fair country, and a woman of wisdom and kindness that even the Goddess Nayru would be envious of. But I digress… At the beginning, this is not how it was. We were all young once, and that is where this story should begin.

Zelda and I are two years apart in age, and our father is at least thirty years older than I. As it has been with every woman in our line, the previous queen Zelda died giving birth to my sister. I always held my sister in contempt for this, being too young at the time to truly understand what had happened. However, most of that anger was reconciled during my tenth year, when father grew… Strange.

"Yes, yes I understand… No, I know what it is I must do! You can rely on me, my dearest…" Father's voice echoed from his bedroom as I walked by, wooden sword in hand. Curious as to whom he may be talking to, I slowly pushed open the door just a crack, enough to peek into his room with a single eye. Within, I saw my father in his plain robes, long golden hair flowing down his back, and his ice-cold blue eyes staring at himself in the mirror. He continued to speak, "ah yes, I see him. Don't worry, he's only a child. He understands nothing." My brows creased as I wondered if he spoke of me. My simple question was answered soon enough as father turned around and looked straight at me through the crack in the door. His pearly white teeth gleaming through his beard in a smile as he strode toward me. Father lightly pulled the door open and picked me up in his arms, that smile still spread wide across his face. "Ah, Adean, what brings you here? Come to check up on your father?"

I nodded and pointed to his mirror. "I heard you talking, so I wanted to know who you were talking to. But then I saw you weren't talking to anyone… Just your mirror." My eyes then widened as a thought entered my young head. "Father! Is your mirror magic? Can you use it to talk to anyone in the world?"

He simply laughed and ruffled my hair. "No, my son. It's just a simple mirror. I wasn't talking to anyone, just going over what I have to do this month. That's all."

"Oooh… Because you were being awfully weird."

He laughed once again and kissed me on the head. "Your father can be a weird guy sometimes! I thought you already knew that."

I gave him a mischievous smile, "oh yeah, I forgot about that!"

"Yes, I'm sure you did. Now, weren't you supposed to be studying today? You should get back to work!" He set me down and gave me a playful shove out into the hall.

"Yes father…" With a sigh I continued down the elaborate hall toward the study, where my teacher Piton would be waiting for me.

On my way to studies I saw a small little blonde girl standing in the hall. She had father's blue eyes, and was wearing a small yellow dress. "Adean! Where are you going? Are you going to classes? Can I come? Pleeease? I'm so bored right now!"

Another small sigh escaped my mouth as I tried to walk past her, but she simply followed me, calling my name until I answered. "No Zelda, you can't come. It'd probably bore you even more than just sitting there. I have to learn about Hyrule's history today. That'll bore even me..!"

As persistent as ever, she continued to follow me. "But that sounds interesting! I want to know how our kingdom was made! Will you learn about the hero in green? They always say that he was a handsome young knight who always saves the princess when she's in trouble! I hope a hero in green will come rescue me one day!"

I turned my head to look at her with a face of perplexed frustration, only to see her swooning in her own imagination. With a roll of my eyes I walked on, her still following behind. "You're too stupid and bratty for anyone to want to save you." As I kept walking, all I could hear was her spitting at me. I turned to look at her again to see her eyes closed shut and her tongue sticking out. "Hey! Don't spit on me! Or I'm going to spit on you!" I began to snort loudly, trying to summon a large glob of snot to spit in her direction. With a scream, Zelda ran off, her blonde hair trailing behind her as she disappeared around a corner. With a smile of victory I continued on, making my way to the two large doors that held the library and my tutor.

"Finally you arrive. Late, as per usual. But I suppose that is to be expected of a young prince, always lolli-gagging about, wasting his time on trivialities rather than expanding his retinue of knowledge and expertise." Piton slowly raised his nose from his book, his perpetual pompous scowl spread over his face. He always reminded me of a man who had just sucked on a lemon, as his lips were always pursed and raised high. His eyes were always narrowed, and he always wore the same black formal tunic with jacket and a neck-tie. I always thought him odd for dressing so formally all the time, but I suppose that was just his way. "Are you ready to begin your lesson on the history of Hyrule? Or do you need another hour or two to accomplish nothing?"

With a sigh I reached up to take a book from the shelf to my right. It was my notebook, supposedly my greatest learning tool, according to Piton. "Father said I would get in trouble if I didn't."

Piton's pursed lips curled up into whatever kind of smile he could manage before continuing. "Excellent, then let us begin, shall we? Where shall we start… Ah, the basics? Something everyone knows: the Goddesses and how the world was created."

A large groan escaped my throat, as I could tell how many sword-fights would be included in this particular tale.

After clearing his throat, Piton began. "The land of Hyrule was created by the three Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore. They descended from the heavens to create the world, each using their passion and power to create this fine land. Din used her great fires to forge the earth, creating the rocks and the mountains, and the floor beneath our feet. Some have theorized that her most favoured creation was Death Mountain. It stands greater and taller than the rest, a dormant volcano that harbours the destructive power of Din herself."

I wrote notes as Piton gave his lecture, for I never knew when he would decide to quiz me on what he had just explained. 'To make sure you're listening' he'd say.

"Farore gave the cold red earth life, spreading plant and wild-life across the land, and making it as vibrant as it is today. But Farore didn't only create the plants and animals of Hyrule, she also created the different races that inhabit it as well. The Goron, the Zora, even we, the Hylia. In fact, little prince, she named the land Hyrule after us, the people she favoured."

That final comment piqued my curiosity a little as I rose my face from my large note-book. "She liked us the most? Why?"

Piton was quick to answer, once again delving into his vast plethora of facts and details to sate my curiosity. "Because we were created in the image of the Goddesses. Tell me, have you ever seen the images depicted as a Zora, or a Goron? Even those two races show the Goddesses to resemble Hylians more than themselves, as they have their own guardian deities. You see, while we Hylians worship the Goddesses directly, people like the Zora worship them indirectly through guardian deities such as Lord Jabu Jabu."

My brows scrunched together even more at this explanation. "What's a Jabu Jabu? How come the Zoras worship him instead of the Goddesses?"

Piton snickered at my childish question and answered it with ease. "That's _Zora_, Adean. They worship _Lord_ Jabu Jabu because he wields magical power that purifies Lake Hylia, giving the land clean water. He acts as a mortal servant of Farore, keeping that which she has created clean and beautiful."

"Oooh…" My young mind did its best to wrap around the explanation that was offered, which it actually managed to do for a moment, before the explanation was lost on me once again. However, instead of trying Piton's thin patience with redundant questions, I let him continue with his lesson.

"Lastly, Nayru descended on the newly-born creatures of Hyrule to give us law, and dispel the chaos of our animal instincts. Of course, she gave this privilege to a select few. I trust I needn't use my same example of the Goron and Zora as an example once again."

I just nodded and along and quickly jotted down my notes about Nayru. "Dispelled chaos… Gave us law and… Odour?"

"No Adean, _order_. Nayru gave us law and _order._"

"Oooh okay. That was weird for a second."

"I'm sure… Now, may I continue?"

"Er, yeah…" I slowly lowered my head back to my book in slight embarrassment.

"Now this is the most important part of the lesson. So if you weren't listening to me before, listen now! When the Goddesses finally departed from our world, they granted us a magical gift of unprecedented power."

"Oh! They gave us that one thing..! Um.. The Triumph Forks!" My guess was neither right, nor amusing. Piton gave me a deep glare and a quick smack on the head for my idiocy.

"They gave us the Triforce." Piton's now serious tone forced me to respect the new topic, and I sat and listened obediently, not speaking out of turn again until I thought he was finished. "The Triforce, known mainly in ancient times as the power of light, is the greatest manifestation of power in our known world. For that reason, it is sealed in a place known only as the _Sacred Realm_, which is theorized to exist on a plane of existence separate from our own." Piton must have noticed my utterly baffled face, for he continued on to say, "basically, it is in no place that just anyone can reach. Only men of insurmountable power, courage, and wisdom can obtain it."

These requirements reminded me of the ancient battles between the legendary Hero of Time, and his arch-nemesis, the evil Ganondorf. "Is that the thing Ganondorf was always trying to get when he kidnapped the Zeldas of the past? The Triforce?"

Piton was clearly pleased by this question, as his lips curved into a delighted smile. "Yes! You see young prince, the Triforce has the power to grant anyone who reaches it any wish they want, with only one condition: that person must possess equal parts of power, courage, and wisdom. If they don't, then the Triforce splits into three pieces, and they don't get their wish."

"Wow, it sounds really hard to get the Triforce…" I muttered under my breath. Before Piton had explained to me everything a person had to do, I was formulating childish plans to obtain the Triforce, and make my very own wish. "Does the Triforce grant any wish? Anything someone could want?"

Piton nodded at me, possibly reflecting on the events of the past. "Yes. That is why Ganondorf spent all his life trying to obtain it. He even succeeded once or twice, but the Hero of Time was always there to defeat him."

"Wow… The Hero of Time must have been pretty amazing, huh?"

"Indeed. He and all his descendants are the embodiment of courage. True heroes of Hyrule. Well, that's enough for today's lecture. Why don't you go scamper off now, hmm? I hope you've learned a lot here!"

I smiled at Piton and closed my large note-book. "You bet I did! It was actually a lot more interesting than I thought! See you tomorrow Piton!"

The gangly old man raised a hand in farewell, and I ran out the door, eager to play Hero of Time.


End file.
